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Source:
www.moh.gov.sg |
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Is Class B2/C Hospitalisation Affordable? |
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By Chua Boon Loy1 |
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An Excerpt |
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PROFILE OF BILL SIZES BY WARD CLASS |
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Every year, about 10% of Singaporeans are
hospitalised. Within the public hospitals, around three-quarters of the patients
would choose to stay in Class B2 and C wards2. |
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A larger proportion of patients from the
lower income groups utilise such ward classes to enjoy high Government
subsidies3. |
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As a result of direct Government subsidies,
the average Class B2/C bills are relatively modest. In 2004, the average
bill size for Class B2 and C wards were around $1,050 and $800
respectively (Exhibit
1). |
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Only one in 100 Class B2 and C patients
had a bill exceeding $6,517 and $5,164 respectively. |
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MEDISAVE BALANCES |
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Since the establishment of Medisave in
1984, Singaporeans in general have accumulated sizeable Medisave
balances. |
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In 2004, total Medisave balances
amounted to $32.1 billion. This represented an annual increase of
9.0% as compared with $22.7 billion in 2000. |
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As at end-December 2004, the average
Medisave balance for all active accounts was $17,321. This is enough
to cover more than 20 times the average Class C hospital bill or 10
times the 90th percentile Class C bill4. (Even when
inactive accounts were included, the average Medisave balance was
$11,228, 7 times the 90th percentile of Class C bill.) |
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Exhibit 2 gives a breakdown by age group of the average balances
of Medisave members with active accounts as at end-December 2004. |
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Through regular contributions over their
working years, the majority of Singaporeans have been able to build
up healthy balances in their Medisave accounts which can meet their
medical expenses and those of their dependants. |
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To be sure, healthy Medisave balances
per se do not guarantee that patients¡¯ share of B2/C hospital bills
are fully covered by Medisave, without out-of-pocket cash from the
patients. |
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This is because the use of Medisave is
subject to withdrawal limits. This is to prevent a premature
depletion of Medisave monies which are more critically needed during
old age. |
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The Medisave withdrawal limits for
inpatient care are $300 per day of stay, and an additional amount
(ranging from $150 to $5,000) for surgical operations performed. As
an additional check, we have examined the impact of these withdrawal
limits on affordability of B2/C bills. |
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We found that most of the hospital bills
incurred at the Class B2/C wards will be fully covered by the
maximum claimable from Medisave. Two examples ¨C one of an average
(non-surgical) episode and the other of a major surgery ¨C are
presented in
Exhibit 3. |
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More..... |
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1 Chua Boon Loy is an Assistant Director
/ Senior Health Economist with the Healthcare Finance Division,
Ministry of Health.
2 Refer to Annex: Exhibit A-1 for
breakdown.
3 Government subsidies for Class B2 and C
wards are 65% and 80% respectively.
4 Active accounts refer to accounts that
have at least one contribution paid during the current and any of
the preceding three months. Inactive accounts refer to accounts that
do not have any contribution paid during the current and any of the
preceding three months. |
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Source:
www.moh.gov.sg MOH Information
Paper: 2005/ 09 |
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FrontPage Edition: Fri 20 Jan 2006
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